Jane Returns
by headmaster lion who can talk
Summary: The continued story of Jane by design
1. Chapter 1

***Obligatory how-does-Jane-get-out-of-that-cliffhanger intro* Oh good, now I'm free to move forward. Stay tuned for a Jane by Design fanfic that might actually stay up and running.**

"Jane?"

After the whirlwind she'd been forced through the past few days, that was the last voice Jane wanted to hear. Especially at a place like this.

"What on earth are you doing _here_?" Jane's boss Gray Chandler Murray asked impatiently.

Jane couldn't speak. She couldn't hear anything other than Gray.

"Jane, answer me!"

"Those costumes were great," Eli chimed in, pleading with his eyes for Jane to wake up. "They were really the highlight of the whole show, Jane."

"Thank you!" Jane said, finally coming to. "I'm really glad you liked them."

"They were fantastic Jane," Gray said, crossing her arms, "But that still doesn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"

"My brother," Jane said, quickly trying to formulate some connection with the school other than her attendance. "He works here, the director is one of his friends. She had mentioned that they didn't have anyone to do costumes and she wanted something really spectacular instead of ratty old costume closet junk, and he asked me to give her a hand."

Eli and Jane both held their breath as Gray gave Jane one of her terrifying blank looks. Neither of them had noticed how strong the silence had gotten until Gray tore sharply through it.

"Well lucky for them they knew someone with your talent. It was some of the only talent out there. Come on Eli, I don't want to be here anymore. Jane, I'll see you Monday." Gray turned to leave. Eli and Jane exchanged a look of relief when Gray suddenly turned around. "Oh and Jane?"

"Yes, Gray?"

"Great work."

"Thank you," Jane said in a feeble version of her voice as Gray walked away.

That left only her and Eli.

"So hey," Eli said, "Do you maybe want to grab coffee tomorrow and you can tell me what really pulled you here?"

Jane looked up at him. His dark eyes welcomed her in like they always did, and she felt the edge being taken off of the sting of Billy's confession. Then she remembered the even harsher sting of Eli telling her he slept with someone else.

"I know I did something awful, and honestly, I don't think I deserve someone as wonderful as you, but I'd still like to try if you could find it in your heart to give me the chance. I think we probably have a lot to talk about."

"All right," She said. "Sure"

"Really?" He asked, surprise and sincerity filing his face.

"Yes. I know a great place we can go. I'll text you the address."

"Cool. I'll see you tomorrow then," He said as he started after his aunt. "Oh, and Jane? Thank you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi. I don't really have much to say about this chapter. Just read it and stuff, feel free to review. Hope you enjoy it.**

Jane walked up to the small New York City coffee shop the next morning feeling nervous. She had barely slept the night before; there was too much on her mind. Instead, she spent the time piecing together new looks for herself. A dress, a skirt, maybe a sketch or two, anything to distract her from the swell of emotions running through her so she could think.

She had begun to come to terms with Billy's feelings for Zoe. He seemed happy with her, and Billy was Jane's best friend. She wanted him to be happy, and that meant him being with Zoe. And anyway Jane wasn't even sure if she wanted to confess some undying romantic love for Billy because she actually felt it or because everyone else was telling her she did. The more she thought about the more Jane realized that her feelings for Billy were just as a best friend.

Then there was the mess with her job. She had narrowly avoided being fired. Thinking back to what she had said and what Gray had said and what Eli had said, Jane figured it turned out pretty okay. She didn't get fired, which meant that Gray was still in the dark about Jane's true age. Gray wouldn't have held anything back if she had suspected even one stitch out of place. Although, Jane knew that it would definitely be in her best interest to never come in such a close shave again.

All that left was Eli. The guy at work she couldn't stand had turned into the one she couldn't get enough of. Every time they were together, even just seeing each other in passing at work, Jane's heart skipped at least two beats. And when they kissed she felt every part of her body sing. She wanted to be with Eli. She wanted to feel as nice as she felt when she was with him before, but she couldn't just erase the fact that he slept with someone else.

Jane was hoping the shop would be quiet. She'd rather talk to Eli in private, but there weren't a lot of places to do that. Unfortunately, when Jane walked through the doors the place was packed. The only empty seat she could spot was right along the wall being saved for her by Eli. At least the shop was far away from any familiar faces from school. Except maybe...

"Harper," Lulu said from one corner of the room, "Do you see who I see? Or should I say what."

"Who?" Harper asked, "Where, where am I looking?"

"Over there. The sorry little mouse in the doorway."

"Ohmigod, is that?"

"What's she doing in the city?"

"I don't know, doesn't she have some clothes sorting job or something?"

"It's Saturday, Piper."

"Wait, she's moving. Where's she going?"

The girls watched dumbfounded as Jane walked over to the extremely hot guy they'd been staring at earlier and sat down next to him. The guy smiled, looking even hotter, and handed her a cup of coffee.

"Lulu, he knows her coffee order! That's serious closeness. I don't even know your coffee order."

"Harper you barely know your own order," Lulu snarled. "What's little Jane doing with a guy like that?"

Across the shop, Jane and Eli could both feel their nerves rising.

"I'm really glad you wanted to talk," Eli said. "I felt awful, absolutely deplorable."

"Breaking out the big words I see," Jane replied, sipping her coffee.

Eli laughed. "Yeah, I guess I am."

The two sat for a moment, smiling. They almost forgot the tension between them and the truth that needed to be told.

Almost.

"So, did you want to talk about...anything?" Eli asked Jane. The young woman looked around the crowded coffee shop. There were people everywhere and it was only getting busier and louder.

"Maybe," She said, "But I don't want to talk about this sort of stuff in such a crowded place." She looked down at her coffee

"Where did you have in mind?"

"I don't know, just not...here."

"We could swing by the office if you want, it's close."

Jane looked up at him, her face full of uncertainty.

"Hey," He defended, "My office is probably the only place in this city we can be alone on a gorgeous sunny Saturday in New York. Unless of course you wanted to go to my apartment, but things being how they are-"

"Let's go to the office," Jane said.

Lulu and Harper watched as Jane and her mystery man got up to leave.

"There is no way they're a thing. Right? No way." Harper insisted as Eli held the door and smiled brightly at Jane.

"Let's find out."


	3. Chapter 3

**Tada. So this is going to be updated on Wednesdays from now on. Regular updates. Expect them.**

The office was quiet. As much as Jane loved the bubbling noise and movement of design during the week, the few moments she was able to catch of the office when it was empty were just as nice. There was something refreshing about the rare moments of peace and calmness. She strode in with Eli, coffees in hand, and tried to brace herself against the inevitable destruction of everything she had built up with Eli. No longer would he look at her with that sparkle in his dreamy eyes. No longer would she have a job, in all likelihood. If she had known Eli any less than she did she might have worried that she'd wind up in jail after he found out.

Eli led Jane into his office and shut the door before sitting down in the chair next to her. He decided to allow her a moment to sip her coffee and think before asking her what he wanted to know.

But that moment couldn't last forever.

"So," He said, softly tearing through the silence, "Can you tell me why you were doing high school drama costumes?"

Jane took a deep breath, shut her eyes tight, and dove in. "I wasn't just doing the costumes because my brother works at that school, it's also the school I go to. I'm a high school student. I was never supposed to end up in a mess like this, but I came in to interview for an internship and they thought I was an adult and just handed me the opportunity to make my dreams come true. Back when it started my brother still couldn't find a job and we had no one else. They were going to take our house, and then who knows what would happen to me and Ben? Between the fear of that happening and the incredible opportunity to actually work at Donovan Decker like I've dreamed about for ages, I just couldn't say no. I feel awful about lying to everyone, and technically it's breaking the law, but I wouldn't change any of it, even if it all ends now."

The silence came back. Jane watched Eli's face as he took in everything she said to him. Every word, every emotion, and every implication.

"So...You're in high school?"

"Remember my birthday when you took me on the fake date?"

Eli nodded.

"Well I wasn't turning twenty-five, I was turning eighteen."

About a million and a half thoughts were rushing through Eli's mind, but he found the one coming to the forefront was relief that she was old enough for them to still have a legal relationship. Even though Jane had just admitted to being in the middle of a felony, he still found himself wanting to be with her. And it wasn't like he was heartless to the reasons she did it. Then something she had said hit him.

"They were going to take your home?" He asked, concern etching itself into his forehead.

"Yes, they were. They're not anymore, though. Between the money I've been making here and Ben's new job we're doing okay now. Please don't worry about that."

"So all those times you shut me out, it wasn't because of me, or us, or your best friend?"

"No! No, absolutely not. It was all because of this. I didn't know if I could tell you. I guess it all lead to me telling you anyway, though, I guess I could've spared us all the hassle."

"No, I get it," Eli said. Jane looked up at him with her big doe eyes that Eli adored. "I can keep your secret, Jane."

Jane felt like she should be surprised, but something in her knew Eli would be good to her. She smiled as her eyes drifted away from him, lost in daydreams about the man in front of her. His voice snapped her out of her reverie.

"Now, I have something I need to ask you," He said, forcing himself to meet her gaze. "I know what I did was awful, and if you wanted nothing to do with me or if you started things up with your friend I would completely understand. But I have to at least ask if you could find it in yourself to forgive me?"

Jane studied Eli thoughtfully as she weighed the options. On one hand she felt amazing during the short time they'd been an 'item' and she wanted to be with him. But on the other hand, he slept with someone else. He completely betrayed her trust then blamed it on her relationship with her best friend. As Jane looked him over thoroughly, there was something about it that she couldn't deny: sincerity. He wanted to be with her. He hated what he did, maybe even more than Jane did. Besides, he's keeping her secret. Jane felt like she could trust him.

"Okay," She said, causing his face to light up as one of his thousand watt smiled crossed his face.

"Okay?" He asked, wanting to be absolutely sure.

"Okay. I can forgive you," Jane said, very sure of her decision. "But you have to swear to me that I can trust you and that you won't accuse me of having anything more than super close friendship with Billy."

"Can I meet him?"

"If you'd like."

"Then I promise on everything I've got. Thank you, Jane. I didn't think I'd get a second chance with a girl like you."

"Even when a girl like me is five years younger than you?"

"Five years isn't that much when you think about it. It'll mean less and less as time passes. And, since you're eighteen, it's completely legal, which is a bonus."

"That sounds more like a requirement to me."

They both sat laughing and smiling together, seeming to fall back into their banter in a way that just felt so right. Their eyes met and Eli was swept with the overwhelming urge to kiss her. He just wasn't sure if she would want him to so soon after...everything.

"Jane," he said, leaning closer to her, "Can I kiss you? You can say no."

"Why would I say no to an offer as nice as that?"

Eli smiled, moving closer to her. Holding her face in one hand he closed the distance between the two of them as their lips met. Jane wrapped her arms around his neck and melted into him. It felt so right. As they deepened the kiss she moved from her chair to sit in Eli's lap as his arms wrapped around to her back. Quite frankly they didn't care if anyone from the office happened to come into work that Saturday and happened to see them like that in Eli's office.

But what they didn't know was that Jane was really going to care about the two high school girls who had followed them there from the coffee shop.


	4. Chapter 4

Jane all but flounced into school on Monday. She was positively soaring from the weekend spent doing nothing but everything with Eli. Her job was safe, her relationship was better than ever, her brother had his girlfriend back, and her best friend was happy. Something in Jane's mind told her that things were going too good to stay this way, but she gladly pushed that part back down for a while.

"Good morning!" She chirped as she walked up to Bobby and Zoey.

"Morning, Janey," Billy said, "You're in a good mood."

"I guess I am."

"Anything worth sharing?" Zoey asked.

"Oh, nothing, I just patched things up with my boyfriend on Saturday."

"Boyfriend?" Billy said, confused, "Who, Eli? I didn't know you guys were official...or that there was anything to patch up."

"Well, we weren't official, then on Friday everything got sort of hectic and fell apart, and I didn't want to tell you just then because it was the night of the show and I didn't want to give you anything else to worry about, but then we met up on Saturday and we talked and now we're official and everything's perfect." She hummed contently to herself as the three of them started walking.

"Perfect?"

"For the time being."

"How long does 'perfect' usually stick around?" Zoey asked.

"I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts."

"How optimistic. Well, I hope it keeps up for a while. I gotta go to class, but I'll see you guys later, yeah?"

"Yeah," Billy said, leaning down to kiss her softly.

"Bye, Zoey," Jane called as Zoey walked away, turning to wave over her shoulder.

"I'm glad things are going well with Eli," Billy said as the two best friends continued walking.

"Speaking of which, he wants to meet you."

"Really? What's he know about me?"

"Just that you're my best friend that he thought I might have romantic feeling for."

"Wait," Billy said, stopping suddenly, "Really?"

"Yeah," Jane said, turning back to face him. "That was kind of some of the trouble we ran into on Friday."

"Well, did you tell him we're just best friends?"

"Yes, yes, don't worry, everything's good now. He just wants to meet you is all. And to be honest, I'd like you to meet him too. You're my best friend, and he's my boyfriend."

"Of what, two days now?" Billy asked, a teasing lilt in the edges of his voice as a playful smirk crossed his face.

"Technically yes, but there's something about him, you know? Something special. I've never really felt like this."

"If he makes you happy, Janey, then I'll gladly meet him."

"Good. Now we need to go, or we're going to be late."

"Aw, you're no fun."

"Come on!"

The two walked off, as friendly and high-spirited as ever. Lulu glared at them as they walked down the hall, hating that they were this happy when she wasn't. Something would have to be done, and she had some pretty heavy duty ammo.


	5. Chapter 5

**Woah, a new chapter.**

Jane was in the middle of setting her supplies for class on her desk when the space was suddenly taken up by a pair of designer jeans. She looked up to find Lulu Pope staring down at her with that phony smile she seemed to adore.

"Hi Jane," She said, sickly saccharine.

"Hey, Lulu," Jane responded, trying not to worry about what Lulu might have up her perfectly tailored sleeves.

"How was your weekend?"

"Why do you care?"

"Why so rude Jane? I was just making friendly conversation."

"You never make friendly conversation, especially with me."

"Fine. If you must know I had a few questions for you."

"What sorts of questions?"

"You may have noticed that I still harbor some resentment towards you for what you did to me when I was with Billy."

"What I did to you? Billy broke up with you because you kissed another guy. My boyfriend, to be more specific. You did that to yourself."

"He's in love with you. He always has been and he always will be. Because of that, he couldn't stay focussed on holding any sort of relationship with me, so I'm mad at you. Duh. Then the same thing pretty much happened with Nick. He liked me, but somehow I just couldn't measure up to you."

"I thought you had questions."

"Yeah, like how can someone like you possibly be more desirable than someone like me? Like why are all the guys I want already into you? Who's the hot guy Piper and I saw you making out with this weekend?"

Jane could practically feel the color drain from her face. "What?"

"You heard me. Dark curly hair, dark eyes, smile that had you visibly melting. He bought your coffee then you left to make out in an office."

"You followed us?"

"Very good, Jane, way to keep up."

"What do you care about him." Jane's voice was barely audible.

"I want to know who he is."

"Why?"

"Because I want to know how a girl like you keeps getting guys like that."

"Why? You jealous, Lulu?"

"Oh please. Do you really think I'd ever be jealous of you?"

"Well you were with Billy and it sounds like you were with Nick, too. You're jealous of Zoe because she's dating Billy, and you hate her too. And now it sounds like you're jealous of me for having this new guy."

"Just tell me who he is," Lulu said, getting off the desk.

"I don't think I will." Jane was feeling stronger.

"Why? What do you have to hide?"

"Nothing. I just have no reason to be disclosing personal information to someone who's kissed my boyfriend in the past, who's openly admitted to following me on a date, and who's never once been nice to me. So if you just came over here to find out about him, then you can just go because you're not going to find out anything."

The look or disgust and frustration on Lulu's face was absolutely fantastic.

'Add that to the list of perfect things,' Jane thought as Lulu stormed over to her desk.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, friends, have this.**

Jane was astonished at how long things had been going well for. As she strolled towards work she thought about what a dream her life had turned into in the past month and a half. Eli was amazing and sweet and funny and sarcastic and generally adorable, and it made things a lot easier to have someone at work know her secret. He and Billy hit it off and Eli's previous concerns about Jane's best friend were immediately dispelled after a few double dates with Jane, Billy, and Zoey. Speaking of Zoe, she and Jane turned out to be pretty compatible as friends too, which of course made Billy happy. Jane was getting a lot of new hands on assignments at work after Gray saw what she could do at the school's play. Lulu and Piper had even been leaving Jane alone lately. Well, they'd turned to quietly seething to themselves while glaring at Jane from across the room, but they had barely spoken to her, which was a significant improvement. Jane was starting to think that maybe the perfection wasn't going to wear off.

Then, of course, things hit a snag.

Jane entered the office and sighed as she could hear Gray yelling from her office already.

"You should consider yourself lucky he no longer works here!" Gray yelled just before India stormed out.

"India?" Jane asked, "What's going on? What's Gray yelling about?"

"Why don't you and your little boy candy go ask her yourself?" India snapped, not even breaking her stride.

Jane took a deep breath and cautiously entered the dragon's den.

"Good morning, Gray," Jane chirped, "Is everything all right? I heard yelling."

"I just found out that Jeremy and India were having an affair together while Jeremy was still working here. Back before India was fired."

"Is that a problem?"

"Well it was, but Jeremy's no longer with Donovan Decker so I can hardly do anything about it now. If there's one thing I won't tolerate it's frivolous romance among coworkers. If I hear anything about any workplace romances someone's getting fired, so let me know if you ever hear anything. Get out of my office."

"Yes Gray, I'll be sure to keep you updated," Jane practically squeaked before turning and leaving the office slowly. She grabbed a few notebooks of her desk and all but ran to Eli's office. She found him bent over a new sketch.

"Hey, you," He said, looking up when Jane entered. His brow furrowed when she closed the door hastily behind her. "Everything okay?"

"No," She said, "not really, not anymore."

"What's up?"

"It's Gray. She just tore India's ear off over her thing with Jeremy back when Jeremy still worked here. She said 'no workplace romance' and told me to tell here if anyone in the office is dating. Eli, if Gray finds out one of us is going to get fired."

"I'm sure she wasn't serious, Jane."

"Eli, this is Gray we're talking about. She's nothing _but_ serious. What are we going to do?"

"Well if you're sure she's serious then that means she doesn't know yet, so I guess we just keep doing what we have been?"

"I don't know, Eli, this all makes me really nervous."

"Hey," He said, getting up from his chair and stepping closer to Jane to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll be okay. You've pulled off more difficult ruses."

"Well, I can't argue with that," Jane said, the smile returning to her face. Eli loved her smile. He loved the way it made her already bright eyes positively sparkle.

The two were broken out of their little trance by a quick rapping on the door before it opened and Carter stepped part way into the office. "If you two lovebirds don't want to get caught you should probably wait until after work to be making eyes at each other."

Of course, Carter knew. Carter knew everything about everyone's business. They were lucky it was him who spotted them and not Gray or India. Jane stepped back as Eli let his hand fall to his side. As she left Eli's office, she glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him one more time, eyes sparkling as brightly as ever.


	7. Chapter 7

Being with Eli was absolutely wonderful. He and Jane had decided to spend one delightfully sunny Saturday on a picnic date in central park. They wandered the hundreds of paths, not paying much mind to where they were going. Jane didn't care where they were as long as she could feel Eli's fingers intertwined with her own and hear his voice next to her.

"Well I'd say this day was a success," Eli hummed as he and Jane walked close together leaving the park.

"It was amazing," Jane said, glancing up at Eli.

They locked eyes and just smiled at each other tightening their hands and inching closer together. Jane couldn't imagine how this day could get better.

"Well well well, look what I've found," They knew that voice.

Jane and Eli looked up to see India's cat-like grin and hawk-like eyes trained on them.

"Is this a date, kiddies?" She asked them way too sweetly. She obviously knew the answer already.

"India," Jane said.

"I thought of all people that Gray's nephew and her precious little pet would follow her rules. But then again, I guess when you put them together...Just wait until she hears about this."

"India, you can't tell her," Eli said.

"And why not?" India asked. "Worried one of you will get fired? I wonder which one it would be. You're her nephew, but she really doesn't seem to care. Then again you're actually a designer. Little Miss Perfect over here's just an assistant."

"Jane's designed plenty for Donovan Decker," Eli said, his voice as cold as ice.

"Jane doesn't know her place," India spat back. "You know what? I don't really care which one of you gets fired over this. It doesn't really matter. You know why? Because whichever one of you gets fired the other one will be miserable. Then neither of you win. Perfect, no?"

"No."

"Well, you've got the weekend to warm up to the idea, because come Monday Gray's finding out, and she's not going to like hearing it from me." India turned and stalked away, leaving Jane to curl herself into Eli and hide her face in his chest. India was right. Between her and Eli, she was way more likely to get fired.

India was going to tell Gray, and there was no stopping it.


	8. Chapter 8

Eli ran his hands through Jane's hair as she curled into his side on his couch. Running into India had not been a particularly good ending to their date and it left the pair wondering what they could possibly do. Jane was trying to come to terms with the prospect of losing the job she had worked so hard to hold onto while Eli was wracking his brain trying to come up with a plan. He knew they needed to act quickly, which didn't allow for much time to get Jane on his side so he would probably end up doing something rash. He ran all the possibilities and settled on the only one he thought could possibly work. He braced himself for Jane to panic, took a deep breath, and spoke up.

"Jane, I think we should tell her."

Jane bolted upright and stared at him with astonishment at how he could possibly suggest such a thing.

"Tell who? Tell Gray? No. No, Eli, we can't, that's crazy!"

"Just hear me out, Jane."

"No, she'd have both of our heads, particularly mine."

"Well, India's gonna tell her on Monday whether we like it or not. If that happens then there's nothing either of us could do or say that would change Gray's mind about firing one or both of us. If we tell her then at least we were honest with her. At least we were upfront, we fessed up. Plus, we can show her how it hasn't affected our work at all. If India tells her, you know she's gonna point out any flaw or misstep either of us have had in the past several months and blow it out of proportion. And of course, you know she'd throw in who knows how many lies about the whole thing. If we tell Gray, if we're honest with her, then at least we have a chance."

Jane looked at Eli as she thought about everything he said. He was right. The two of them telling Gray was infinitely better than India telling Gray. This way they had a chance to plead their case and had the advantage of being honest and having told Gray themselves instead of being ratted out.

"Okay," Jane said nervously, "Let's do it then."

"All right," Eli said as he pulled up a video call with Gray. He looked down at Jane and put a comforting arm around her. "Try not to look like you feel guilty. Nervous is okay, but guilty might not fly too well."

Jane nodded as the two of them waited. After a minute or so, Gray picked up.

"Eli, what's the meaning of this?" She asked before stopping, confused. "Jane? What are you doing at Eli's apartment?"

"Actually, that's kind of what we called you about, Gray. We wanted to tell you..." He paused a moment, "Jane and I are dating."

"You're what?"

"I know you don't like people dating their co-workers, but Jane is very important to me. She is important to me and I couldn't imagine being without her."

"And Jane?" Gray asked, turning her attention to the young woman next to her nephew.

"Eli means the world to me," She said.

"How long has this been going on for?"

"A few months," Eli said. "And it hasn't been affecting our work, you haven't even noticed a difference."

"Actually," Gray said, "I have. Come to my office first thing Monday."

With that, Gray hung up, leaving the young couple to sit quietly and hope for the best.


End file.
